A petition is calling for recycling bins to be placed along Portobello Promenade after the beach was blighted by litter following a scorching Bank Holiday weekend.

Hot weather litter louts are being shamed for leaving the Capital’s beauty spots riddled with rubbish after basking in the sunshine.

Overflowing litter caused an eyesore over the Easter Bank Holiday, with a fire sparked by a disposable barbecue which had not been properly extinguished.

Stretching from Portobello to Bruntsfield, residents have highlighted litter hotspots across the city – with nearly four tonnes removed from the Meadows alone.

Overflowing bins, thoughtless discarding of rubbish and fly-tipping was a huge issue across the weekend with additional pressure being applied on already stretched council services.

Edinburgh City Council’s management team cleared sites across the Capital following a scorching Easter weekend with temperatures soaring to a whopping 23C.

Chas Booth, Green councillor for Leith, slammed the “selfish behaviour” of those failing to dispose of their litter appropriately.

Edinburgh much-loved beauty spots took a bit of a hammering over the weekend

He added: “It’s essential that people using our parks in warm weather play their part, by ensuring that litter is recycled or put in a bin. Dropping litter is selfish behaviour, and prevents other people from enjoying our open spaces as they should.”

Plastic bottles, beer cans, takeaway containers and crisp packets are among items left blowing around Princes Street Gardens and Portobello beach after thousands of sun-worshippers hit the city’s beauty spots.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue service was called out to Bruntsfield Links at 5.53pm on Monday after a bin went up in flames with a disposable barbecue believed to be the cause of the blaze.

Resident Samantha Robertson has launched a petition requesting the city council installs recycling points along the busiest stretches of Portobello Promenade following the “disgusting” amount of rubbish being dumped on the beach.

A fire in a bin on the Meadows which was caused, supposedly, by un-extinguished disposable barbecue.

She said: “There is also a desperate need for more bins during the warm days as the beach is packed and the current bins fill up by midday. We all have a moral obligation given all we know about climate change to do something. I cannot go out every night and single-handedly clean the beach but have done it.”

One person, who didn’t want to be named, wrote on Twitter: “All bins along Princes Street are overflowing with rubbish. Rats and seagulls and doves have a party over last few days.”

Another reader added: “Absolute disgrace. Beaches around Portobello Promenade strewn with litter mostly beer cans. People should be ashamed of themselves.”

Councillor Lesley Macinnes, transport and environment convener, said: “It’s always great to see our beautiful parks and beaches full of people enjoying the sunshine, but what’s not so great is the amount of litter left behind.

A bin overflowing with disposable barbecues

“Lots of communities across the city are pitching in and arranging clean-ups of their local areas, which really helps boost the council’s £10m-a-year work to keep the Capital clean. However, if more people binned their litter properly in the first place, the city would be a much nicer place for everyone.”

Those convicted of fly-­tipping can be fined an unlimited amount or imprisoned for up to five years.

Cllr Karen Doran added: “We shouldn’t be having to clear nearly four tonnes of litter – the same weight as an Indian elephant! – from the grass on the Meadows the morning after a sunny day.

“If we want everyone to get the best of Edinburgh, to enjoy its fabulous parks and reap the physical and mental health benefits of time spent in urban green spaces, then we all have to treat our parks with care and respect, leaving them as spotless as we’d expect to find them.

“Edinburgh is one of the world’s most beautiful and greenest cities. She deserves to be properly looked after.”

To sign the petition go to www.change.org/p/city-of-edinburgh-council-more-bins-and-recycling-points-for-portobello-beaxh

Portobello Beach. PIC: @share_sare

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